What Is Acne?

Acne is an example of a condition that you can get on your face. It comes about as a result of the small openings or pores found on your skin getting clogged. Now these pores serve a very important function; they enable our skin to “breathe” and secret natural oils as well. Usually the case is: your body has glands referred to as sebaceous glands, and their work is to make an oily substance called sebum. This orin is beneficial in times of helping protect and moisturise your skin. Usually, these sebaceous glands can go into overdrive at times which means that they start producing oil in excess. When this surplus oil is mixed with dead skin cells which are shed daily by your skin (this happens everyday), and sometimes, bacteria, a sort of gunk is formed that can get trapped at the opening of the pore. At that point, the pore that is clogged no longer has any space for the oil that is inside. This is the moment that it transforms into a bump, which can take the form of a pimple, white head, black head, and in dire cases, deeper and painful acne.

Imagine your skin as a miniature factory that produces oil. When the factory is functioning properly, oil production stays within the preset limits and everything looks and feels great. But if there’s a traffic jam because of excess production of oil, dead skin cells, and bacteria, things start to escalate. The unresolved backup leads to the formation of acne, which is a widespread problem.

Why Does Acne Mostly Happen on the Face?

Ever wonder why acne shows up mostly on the face? That’s because your face has the most active oil glands compared to the rest of your body. The more active the oil glands, the more chances there are for oil production to go a little overboard. And as we now know, too much oil often leads to clogged pores.

But your face isn't the only thing that's affected. Acne can pop up on your back, chest, shoulders, and even upper arms — pretty much anywhere on your body where oil glands are in high gear. That's why some individuals have to contend with painful back acne ("bacne") or breakouts on the chest, particularly when it's hot and humid or during hardcore workouts.